Sunday, 31 August 2014

Firstly, Few words regarding portrait drawing from photograph reference. When you want to draw a person from a photograph, you need to have all the features in exactly the same place and a lot of attention is required for finer details to achieve an acceptable level of realism. I find the grid method best suits this. If you have the reference digitally, find out how to make grid here:http://rhizwana.com/craft/2014/08/how-to-digitally-make-grid-over-photo-reference/

This is my reference photo with grid

If you have a printed reference and u don't want to mess it up with lines, construct the grid on a OHP sheet & attach it over the photo taping it on all sides. You can photocopy a graph sheet on to the OHP sheet if u find it tedious to draw lines.Well with that little piece of info, we'll go straight into the process.

Step 1:Constructing the grid.

I Took an A4 size butter/trace paper. u can use any size u want but make sure your original drawing sheet and the paper are of the same size. Also any paper can be used for the grid and rough sketch.i used this because it is thinner, so i don't have to apply too much pressure when transferring to the original sheet.As I have already mentioned, you can directly use a graph sheet here to eliminate this step.Use a hard lead pencil (2H) to construct the grid. Here, I have constructed 20×14 squares for the A4 size . First draw the outermost rectangle 20×14 cm. Then make marks at one centimetre interval on all four sides. Join the opposite points & the grid is ready.

Step 2:Drawing the faceUse the grid guidelines from your reference photograph and try to recreate the same on the sheet of paper, one square at a time. If you concentrate carefully on each square, then the final picture will turn out perfectly.

Step 3:Shading the template

Use a soft lead pencil (I have used 5B) to shade the back of the template sheet. It glides smoothly and the shading is uniform. The higher number, the better. Make sure you cover all the areas where the lines are present. This is especially tricky when you use a opaque paper. It's better to cover the whole sheet in such cases.

Step 4:Transferring the image

Stick the template over the drawing sheet using tape on all four sides. Since both papers are of same size, it is easy to position one on top of the other & can be replaced exactly again if needed. Also, the adhesive in the tape is not touching the original sheet so any tape can be used.Draw over the lines with the tip of an empty ballpoint pen. Make sure you go over all the lines. Fixing a starting point and proceeding in a single direction will help to avoid missing any lines. For example from top left to bottom right. Peel off the tape after completion. U'll have a mild outline of all the required areas in your drawing sheet. Now you can proceed with sketching and adding the details with the medium of your choice. U can store the template and use it for future projects if you want to recreate the same or try out with a different medium.

Step 1In the homescreen of picsart app, select Draw option & then "Draw on background" in the sub menu

Step 2Choose the background. As I want finer precision, I use the graph sheet background.

Step 3Set measurements. There are standard templates available. U can use that or set measurements according to need. I wanted a 20×14 square cm area for drawing in a A4 size sheet. I did some rough calculations and then fine tuned it to 980×1435

Step 4Select the layers option, then "photo layer" in the submenu. Add the required photo. U can also use the "add photo" menu if the grid doesn't permit u to add the wanted field area. But I always prefer photo layer as the placement will be perfect.

Step 5Now in the layers menu, Reduce the opacity of your photo. U will be able to see the grid over the photograph.

Step 6Use the "save image" option to save your work and you are done and all set to portrait drawing. Not just for portraits, any reference can be made this way. It is only a basic idea & there are many more methods to experiment yourselves.Create. Have fun.

Tips n tricks: if you want to make this easier, to get a better idea about the lighting and shading, first edit your photos with sketcher/drawing effects using any application. There are many in the market. (picsart provides it too in the Effect section, but I would also recommend sketchguru) When you are satisfied with Fx, save & use that image for applying the grid.

If u r interested in the Steps, here they are:I cut a 9"×5" orange cardstock & folded in half for the landscape layout. .I stamped the borders with red pigment ink.. I cut a black craft paper leaving 1/4" margin on all sides (It dint turn out perfect though) & pasted it on the orange sheet with glue. I drew and cut the cup and saucer out of patterned paper, added the green strips from an old wedding card.Since I didn't have any chalk/distress inks, I used acrylic colour (burnt sienna) mixed with camlin gloss medium (thinner) to do the shading. I cut out a vintage tag washi tape & trimmed it to a smaller size. Cut & Added that little heart from a red paper. Outlined with uniball signo silver pen. I pierced at the top With a pin, inserted a thin twine, made a loop knot & tag is ready.For the clouds, I made a stencil with OHP sheet. Drew the clouds, cut out with a craft knife. I applied homemade modelling paste (talc+white glue+ camlin texture white) with palette knife. I stuck the saucer flat with glue & the cup & tag with foam squares to give dimension.I mixed some burnt sienna with the modelling paste & applied with the stencil I cut to get the coffee/tea effect.. (not sure if it is showing up in the picture;) )

Finally, with uniball signo milky white gel pen, I drew lighting, rain splatters, tea foam & the faux stitches.. and included "Bliss"(No stencil, so had to go by handwriting again )Card is done.

Thunderstorms, heavy showers, hot tea , coffee aroma.. they cross my mind whenever I think of monsoons.. am never an indoor person when it rains..I would never miss a chance to get drenched in rain & feel the blissful drops wash away every ounce of sorrow & melancholy from my mind :)

So dats my Version of the monsoons :) I hope you enjoyed it. I found lots & lotsa imperfections there (it is full of them actually) but am happy how it has turned out, this being my first serious project with all those strange tools ;)Hoping to improve more.. Cheers.!Create. Have fun.